Folding bikes are made for the city and can really change the way you travel. A folding bicycle is small enough to get on public transportation, but big enough to get you anywhere in the city. We carry folding bikes from Brompton, Dahon,...
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Electric bikes are a great way to get in shape, stay in shape, run errands and travel. Electric bicycles have enough power and enough range to let you revamp your entire commute and leave the car at home. Above all, electric bikes are a blast to...
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You'll be 3 times faster on your kick scooter! Our high quality push scooters will keep you comfortable and safe while scooting with your kids or on the way to work. You'll smile every time you get on.
Our selection of adult kick scooters have...
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NYCEWheels has some of the best bike accessories you'll find anywhere, whether you're looking for accessories for electric bikes or for standard bikes. Our accessories can improve your safety, ease your commute or just help you fix your bike. We...
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Get the most out of your electric bike, folding bike or scooter with replacement parts and accessories available at NYCeWheels. Whether you are looking to add on to and upgrade your bike to make it more fun, efficient or stylish, or you simply...
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These items are going fast - Order while supplies last!
Many of these sale items are the last items available and won't be reordered - even if you place an order we may run out of stock before the order is processed and the website is updated,...
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Hub Motor Bicycles Are Superb Electric Bikes

The use of electric conversion kits to convert regular bicycles to electric bicycles has been growing in recent years. This comes in the wake of an equally increased interest in electric bikes in general. Both types of electric bike have come into this new realm of expanded use thanks to the electric bicycle hub motor.

Hub motor bicycles are distinguished from other types of electric bikes by the presence of an electric bike motor within either the front or rear wheel. These hub motor bikes have drawn increased popularity to electric bikes thanks to a few of the benefits conveyed by their design.

Hub motor bikes look more like bicycles

The first benefit of a hub motor bicycle is that the motor is contained within the design of the bike. On older electric bike frames the motor would hang off the side of the bike and drive the rear wheel via a second chain. This design was inferior in three ways: the chain drive is less efficient and more maintenance, the bike becomes unbalanced with extra weight hanging on one side, and the motor is exposed and easily damaged if the bike were tipped over. In this respect, hub motor bicycles are much more reliable than their older cousins.

This added safety and convenience has allowed the hub motor bicycle to enter into the mind of the everyday consumer as a safe and practical means of recreational and business oriented transport. So what kinds if hub motor bicycles are there?

Varieties of hub motor bicycles

The most common form of hub motor bicycle uses a front wheel motor. This keeps things simple as no gearing system need be worked around the bulkier hub motor. With the front wheel of a hub motor bicycles being the only major difference between it and a standard bicycle, normal bike frames can be used with very little modification. This leads to hub motor bicycles having lighter, stronger construction and a more normal bike look in general. Both large benefits in the mind of the public.

Other hub motor bicycles uses a rear wheel electric bike motor. These hub motor bicycles take on the extra challenge of combining the motor and gearing system. As a result rear wheel hub motor bicycles with the exception of single-speed varieties generally require a thinner motor to make room for the gears. Though this setup sounds a bit more complicated it can often lead to great advantages over the front wheel hub motor bicycle. Take the BionX electric bike kit for example. Because it is a rear wheel motor this electric bike kit can incorporate a torque sensor into it's design, reading how hard you press on the pedals and intelligently adjusting it's output accordingly. But that's another story.

Hub motor bicycles, now you know...

So now you know a bit more about hub motor bicycles and their advantages over other electric bike motor configurations. The only system better than the hub motor bicycle is the bottom bracket drive. This electric bike drive system warrants an article all to itself. With he exception of some of our folding electric bikes, all the electric bicycles and electric conversion kits we carry are hub motor bicycles or hub motor kits. Though they all use this superior drive system there is quite a variation between models. Be sure to look at each one carefully and give our electric bike selector a shot if you get overwhelmed.

Test rides not available on rainy days, please bring a valid ID and Credit Card to test ride a bike

Mo-Fr : 11:00am - 07:00pm | Sa: 10:00am - 06:00pm

Visit us!

We're located in one of the highest bike traffic areas in the city, right by the Queensboro Bridge!
Our shop is located on 58th St between 1st and 2nd Ave on the north side of the street.

You can't miss our big green awning!

Service

We don't just sell you the bike, we're here to help!We can service all standard and folding bicycles, but we cannot service electric bikes that were not purchased here or e-bikes that we no longer carry.